Chocolate Malt Crispy Bars -- The Gift Box Treat That Disappears Before the Ribbon Goes On

Christmas week and the baking began. This year I had a specific project on top of the annual production: I was making a full gift box for each of my closest five people — MawMaw Shirley, Mama, Daddy, Destiny, Marcus — with items chosen specifically for each person rather than a generic assortment. For MawMaw: her favorite pralines and the pecan bars and a new addition, Cajun spiced pecans that I had been developing. For Mama: the chocolate truffles and a lemon cake. For Daddy: the dry-rub spice mixture for his grilling, packaged in a jar with instructions. For Destiny: ginger cookies and a caramel sauce she could pour on everything. For Marcus: the ginger cookies and my scratch hot chocolate mix, which I had developed this fall as a pandemic comfort project.

I spent four days baking. The kitchen was in continuous production from Thursday to Sunday — one thing in the oven, another cooling, another being packaged. MawMaw had given me a set of small kraft paper boxes years ago for exactly this purpose and I had saved them. I filled them, tied them with ribbon, wrote cards for each one. It was the most labor-intensive Christmas giving I had done and also the most satisfying. You give people something that took your time and your skill and your specific knowledge of who they are. That is the best kind of gift.

Jamal came home for Christmas break on Thursday and the house became its full self again. He ate three pralines from the cooling rack before I could say a word. Some things are eternal. His presence was good — he had a quality of settled purpose to him now that had been building since his scholarship, and it was showing up in how he carried himself, how he moved through rooms, how he spoke about his future. He was becoming the person he had always been going to be. It was extraordinary to witness up close.

Every gift box needed at least one thing that was just pure joy — no occasion, no story, no explanation required — and these Chocolate Malt Crispy Bars were exactly that. I had made them as a fill-in piece for the boxes where I needed something sturdy enough to travel and rich enough to feel like a real gift, and they delivered on both counts. Watching Jamal eat his third praline off that cooling rack reminded me that the best things you bake always disappear before they’re meant to — which is exactly why I always make a double batch of these bars and hide half before the house fills up.

Chocolate Malt Crispy Bars

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 5 min | Total Time: 45 min (includes chilling) | Servings: 24 bars

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 cups crispy rice cereal
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup malted milk powder
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Prepare the pan. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on the long sides for easy lifting. Lightly grease the parchment with butter or nonstick spray.
2. Make the base mixture. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the corn syrup and sugar. Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture just begins to bubble, about 3–4 minutes. Remove from heat immediately.
3. Add peanut butter. Stir the peanut butter into the hot sugar mixture until fully combined and smooth. Add vanilla extract and salt and stir to incorporate.
4. Fold in cereal. Add the crispy rice cereal to the saucepan and fold gently with a rubber spatula until every piece is evenly coated. Work quickly before the mixture stiffens.
5. Press into pan. Turn the cereal mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer using lightly buttered hands or the back of a greased spatula. Pack firmly so the bars hold together when cut.
6. Make the chocolate malt topping. In a small saucepan over low heat (or in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals), melt the chocolate chips together with the butter, stirring until completely smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the malted milk powder until no lumps remain.
7. Top the bars. Pour the chocolate malt mixture over the pressed cereal base and spread evenly with an offset spatula all the way to the edges.
8. Chill until set. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 30 minutes, or until the chocolate topping is fully firm and set.
9. Cut and serve. Lift the slab out of the pan using the parchment overhang and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 24 bars (6 rows by 4 rows). Store layered between parchment in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 165 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 24g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 85mg